peedenmark7 Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 I spoke with a credible industry source Wednesday evening who claims JAM Industries [Washburn owners] has purchased Hamer from Fender.Supposedly they are going to begin producing guitars in Chicago.As to the quality or a custom shop , he did not have details.Has anyone else heard this news ?I wonder how many past employees this would lure in.
kizanski Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 As far as I'm concerned that ship has sailed and they can make whatever model guitars they like, but they'll be "Hamer" in name only.They genie has left the bottle. They broke up the team and the bell cannot be un-rung. Insert whatever metaphor you like here ________.I'm all about The Shishkov now.
gatorbyte007 Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 They have been pretty quiet about the purchase. It would not shock me to see them building Hamers..
ARM OF HAMER Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 As far as I'm concerned that ship has sailed and they can make whatever model guitars they like, but they'll be "Hamer" in name only.They genie has left the bottle. They broke up the team and the bell cannot be un-rung. Insert whatever metaphor you like here ________.I'm all about The Shishkov now. I agree something is original only once and the Hamer guitars that we all know own and love will NOT be built again.
polara Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 Maybe. Could be idle talk. Could be Paul would get the gang together and build Sunbursts. From a business perspective it could make sense to segment acoustics and beginner electrics as Washburn and do high end as Hamer USA
atquinn Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 Given what they've done with Parker, I'm not optimistic...-Austin
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 Get ready for Hamer prices to sag...
mc2 Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 Quite the contrary on price sag.....It will now be like "pre-CBS" or other descriptions for early/collectable Fenders or Gibsons, etc. but now applied to pre-Fender Hamers.IMO it will actually boost prices on the original ones.If the JAM Industries (MY initials BTW!) turns out to be true, they are presently a bigger MI industry player than Kaman was in its day, so a decent fit for the Hamer brand. If they base it through Washburn in Chicago, which they also own, maybe they will try to gather a group of former Hamer employees to revive it right. Maybe they actually have some already at Wasshburn, which also has some former major Hamer endorsers....like Steve Stevens and Rick Savage. So there is potential to do it right.....but easier to do it wrong. In Washburn's defense, the brand could certainly hold its own in its heyday. Rudy Schlacker's team could turn out custom work That rivaled Fender or Gibson.
gorch Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 We will see what's going to happen. Best you can get is the Hamer brand back alive. It keeps the name running and the heritage of pre-whatever in minds. This is still the HFC right?
peedenmark7 Posted April 25, 2015 Author Posted April 25, 2015 Washburn is in serious trouble, this I know. Their custom shop is closing from what this same source says. Last ditch effort by an investment group to recoup some cash ?Dunno, don't really care, thought I'd throw it out there for conversation.As for Hamer , I know there are many who will disagree and argue it to no end, but even as good as they were being built in N.H. , I still don't believe they were real Hamers.other than a logo and the occasional sus block, they felt nothing like a vintage Hamer.I think it was over by 1987. So regardless of what luthier dream team was assembled in New Hartford, Jol was designing guitars that did not appeal to the masses or the core fan base and this is why Hamer is gone.Technically there is no big name manufacturer that is true to its namesake. You can run down the list of almost every BIG one and they are neither owned, designed, being built by, or even in the same original city as they once were. I'd surmise that's why we are seeing so many small upstart builders these days, which is a healthy thing for the markets. Personally , I love seeing all of the little guitar builders giving the majors a run for their money !Save for a big genre change in music driving the need for radically different instruments, it's almost like the mid 70's all over again.
polara Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 Isn't this sort of old news anyway? I thought JAM bought the KMC trademarks and IP earlier in the year. Unless this is about some concrete move to DO something with the names they purchased.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 Quite the contrary on price sag.....It will now be like "pre-CBS" or other descriptions for early/collectable Fenders or Gibsons, etc. but now applied to pre-Fender Hamers.IMO it will actually boost prices on the original ones.If the JAM Industries (MY initials BTW!) turns out to be true, they are presently a bigger MI industry player than Kaman was in its day, so a decent fit for the Hamer brand. If they base it through Washburn in Chicago, which they also own, maybe they will try to gather a group of former Hamer employees to revive it right. Maybe they actually have some already at Wasshburn, which also has some former major Hamer endorsers....like Steve Stevens and Rick Savage. So there is potential to do it right.....but easier to do it wrong. In Washburn's defense, the brand could certainly hold its own in its heyday. Rudy Schlacker's team could turn out custom work That rivaled Fender or Gibson.Maybe.The Hamer import series is generally considered to have impacted Hamer USA prices badly. If people couldn't tell the difference between "Hamer USA" and "Slammer by Hamer", they won't tell the difference here.And the minor price boost that came from "there will never be any new Hamers built again, ever" goes away for anyone who wasn't intimately familiar with the quality of the Dantzig-era Hamers.
cmatthes Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 I have NEVER seen the Hamer name on any of the documentation of the sale to JAM Industries.I'll believe it when I actually see that. I've seen many other of the KMC properties listed in sales, but never once has Hamer been mentioned.Until then, it's all either idle speculation or baseless rumor.
Studio Custom Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 If they do a good job who cares who's building them? Do you know who built your Strat or Les Paul? If I recall correctly neither of those brands are in the founders possession.
peedenmark7 Posted April 25, 2015 Author Posted April 25, 2015 I have NEVER seen the Hamer name on any of the documentation of the sale to JAM Industries.I'll believe it when I actually see that. I've seen many other of the KMC properties listed in sales, but never once has Hamer been mentioned.Until then, it's all either idle speculation or baseless rumor.agreed
kizanski Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 If they do a good job who cares who's building them? Do you know who built your Strat or Les Paul? If I recall correctly neither of those brands are in the founders possession. Well, I never knew any of the Gibson or Fender builders or owners, so I don't give a shit about them. I'm also not a member of any Fender or Gibson forums, so again, not giving a shit.
django49 Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 As much as I have enjoyed many different Hamers (and especially the higher end ones from the "end years") it would be a hard task. I'd have to see something pretty damn good, starting with some TALENT (on the build side, not so much endorsements) and commitment before wading into anything new.Not least because I already have more Hamers than I can justify.
Jakeboy Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 If they do a good job who cares who's building them? Do you know who built your Strat or Les Paul? If I recall correctly neither of those brands are in the founders possession. I know who built my Ultimate. His name is Mike. He did good.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 Until then, it's all either idle speculation or baseless rumor.This is an internet forum.If we didn't swim in idle speculation and baseless rumor, we'd have a lot less to talk about.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 That's not always a good thing.I was trying to make a funny.
mc2 Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 HaHaHa....well put Nathan.IMO, JAM may not have gotten Hamer in the parts of Kaman it bought from Fender a few months ago...but that fact was never stated.But I would think it is just a matter of time before someone buys the brand name, since there are many lesser guitar brands that have been revived from the dead by people hoping to make Walking Dead brands.
Boomerang~Junkie Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 Even if they do revive the Hamer brand and start building some seriously bad ass guitars here in the USA - ALL of the Hamer SME's and serious USA Hamer collectors of any note run in the HFC circle fairly regularly. So it will not be a surprise or something they wont be able to distinguish as something not a "PJ" (Pre-JAM) Hamer - or whatever it becomes. I agree with several of the above posts - the USS Hamer has sailed off into the sunset. Great run, but all done. Whatever new comes under that banner will have to work doubly hard to cut their own path and earn their bones to outshine the old Hamer brand. Despite the business side problems the team crafted incredible guitars so those are still very tough shoes to fill.As for values going up or down on existing old Hamers - meh. The HFC is like the Hamer NASDAQ for sales and valuations on USA Hamers. As my grandmother used to say, "This is what separates the pepper from the fly shit." The Hamer USA market is largely controlled here. Do any of you here think you'll suddenly be blinded or hypnotized by a new JAM Hamer that you forget what all the ones in circulation are now worth? Uh, Not gonna happen.For me, I'll keep hanging out here with all of the other HFC knotheads to keep learning about Hamers and guitars in general from your sage posts (and goofy ones too). It would be a couple of years of excellence by them before any new "JAM Hamer" would peak my interest.
JohnnyB Posted April 25, 2015 Posted April 25, 2015 I have NEVER seen the Hamer name on any of the documentation of the sale to JAM Industries.I'll believe it when I actually see that. I've seen many other of the KMC properties listed in sales, but never once has Hamer been mentioned.Until then, it's all either idle speculation or baseless rumor.If you go to the JAM Industries Ltd. website:Click the link to Musical Instruments,Click the link to KMC Music,Click the link to KMC Music Website,Under the Guitars column you'll find hot links to Hamer and Slammer.However, the Hamer and Slammer links go to the websites that have been around since before the shutdown, copyrighted 2013, and unaltered since their last standard product lines. So at this point I find the links and accessible websites meaningless, i.e., idle speculation and baseless rumor as you said.The KMC list is what's left in the KMC group after DW acquired most of the percussion labels, including Gretsch Drums, Gibraltar hardware, Toca, etc.
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